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Transcript of fss amerhist 10 text - continentalacademy.net
AMERICANHISTORY
AMERICANHISTORY
PREMIER CURRICULUM SERIESPREMIER CURRICULUM SERIESPREMIER CURRICULUM SERIESBased on the Sunshine State Standards for Secondary Education,
established by the State of Florida, Department of Education
Author: Caroline Y. GrantCopyright 2009
Revision Date:12/2009
Author: Caroline Y. GrantCopyright 2009
Revision Date:12/2009
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Welcome to your Continental Academy course. As you read through the text book you will see that it is made up of the individual lessons listed in the Course Outline. Each lesson is divided into various sub-topics. As you read through the material you will see certain important sentences and phrases that are highlighted in yellow (printing black & white appears as grey highlight.) Bold, blue print is used to emphasize topics such as names or historical events (it appears Bold when printed in black and white.) Important Information in tables and charts is highlighted for emphasis. At the end of each lesson are practice questions with answers. You will progress through this course one lesson at a time, at your own pace. First, study the lesson thoroughly. (You can print the entire text book or one lesson at a time to assist you in the study process.) Then, complete the lesson reviews printed at the end of the lesson and carefully check your answers. When you are ready, complete the 10-question lesson assignment at the www.ContinentalAcademy.net web site. (Remember, when you begin a lesson assignment, you may skip a question, but you must complete the 10 question lesson assignment in its entirety.) You will find notes online entitled “Things to Remember”, in the Textbook/Supplement portal which can be printed for your convenience. All lesson assignments are open-book. Continue working on the lessons at your own pace until you have finished all lesson assignments for this course. When you have completed and passed all lesson assignments for this course, complete the End of Course Examination on-line. Once you pass this exam, the average of your grades for all your lesson assignments for this course will determine your final course grade. If you need help understanding any part of the lesson, practice questions, or this procedure: Click on the “Send a Message to the Guidance Department” link at the top of the
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About the Author…
Caroline Grant earned her Bachelor of Arts [B.A.] degree in Psychology and her Master of Science [M.S.] degree in Social Studies Education from Florida International University. She is also a certified therapist for
dyslexic students. Miss Grant has had considerable experience teaching in public and private high schools. She has taught students of varying abilities ranging from the gifted to the academically challenged. Since 2003, she
has been working as an Instructor in English at Broward Community College and as a General Education Instructor in Social Sciences and Humanities at Coastal Educational Institute. Miss Grant resides in Plantation,
Florida.
American History by Caroline Grant
Copyright 2008 Home School of America, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For the Continental Academy Premiere Curriculum Series
Course: 2100310
Published by
Continental Academy 3241 Executive Way Miramar, FL, 33025
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AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE OUTLINE
LESSON 1: DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT (To 1760) 7 Early Americans Exploration and Settlement The First Colonies
LESSON 2: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND NEW REPUBLIC (1754 –1815 ) 15 Conflict between Britain and Colonial America War of Independence The Constitution Early National Period
LESSON 3: SECTIONALISM AND SLAVERY (1789 – 1860) 21 Economy and Society of the Northern States Economy and Society of the Southern States Slavery and the Antislavery Movements Conflict between North and South
LESSON 4: THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (1861 – 1877) 29 The Civil War The Emancipation Proclamation Reconstructing the Union Westward Expansion
LESSON 5: THE MODERN AGE (1870 – 1914) 35 Immigration Social Reform The Progressive Era
LESSON 6: WORLD WAR I AND DOMESTIC CHALLENGES (1914 – 1939) 39 America Enters the War Post War Prosperity The Great Depression The New Deal
LESSON 7: WORLD WAR II AND AMERICAN POST –WAR FOREIGN POLICY 45 (SINCE 1945)
From Neutrality to Intervention Origins and Impact of the Cold War Cold War Threat in Asia and the Middle East Vietnam War and its Impact on American Society
LESSON 8: AMERICAN SOCIETY (SINCE 1950) 51 The Movement for Civil and Voting Rights Social Reform in the 1960’s and 1970’s Political and Economic Changes since 1980 Technology and the Development of American Society Contemporary Social and Environmental Issues
COURSE OBJECTIVES 57
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LESSON 1
DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT (To 1760)
Early Americans
Exploration and Settlement
The First Colonies EARLY AMERICANS
Historians and scientists believe that the first inhabitants of North America came during the Ice
Age, when the northern hemisphere was covered with large sheets of ice called glaciers. With so much water trapped in the form of ice, the ocean levels dropped and the higher parts of the ocean floor appeared, forming a land bridge from Siberia in the northeastern part of Asia to North America. These early inhabitants probably migrated from Asia across this land bridge for thousands of years and many different groups of immigrants arrived in America at different times. These migrants were Paleo-Indian hunters because they used stone tools and lived by fishing and hunting animals. They gradually spread out over North, Central and South America and were the first humans in America. About 10,000 years ago, the Ice Age ended and the temperatures on earth began to warm. As a result, the ocean levels rose again and covered the land bridge between Asia and North America preventing further human migration from one continent to the other. This region is now called the Bering Strait, which is the narrow passageway of water that separates Siberia from Alaska.
In North America, some Indian tribes settled in the regions now known as Canada and the United States. In the United States many diverse cultural groups settled and developed in the Northwest Coastal Regions, the Great Plains, Eastern Woodlands and Southwest Territories. These first Americans had a very simple culture. They were nomadic, that is, they moved from one place to another, and hunted animals such as bison, bears and sheep, with bows and arrows. By the time the Europeans arrived, the Native Indian tribes had developed into complex, organized societies with permanent settlements where their main activities were fishing, hunting and agriculture.
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THE MIGRATION OF THE EARLIEST AMERICANS FROM ASIA TO THE AMERICAS
Wood, Leonard C., Gabriel, Ralph H., Biller, Edward L. (1979). America its People and Values, 5. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Incorporated.
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INDIAN SETTLEMENT IN NORTH AMERICA
Rawls, James J., Weeks, Philip. (1985). Land of Liberty: A United States History, 50. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Publishers.
EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT
By the fifteenth century, many Europeans grew curious about the unknown regions of the
world. This curiosity was combined with the fact that European rulers were hoping to find gold in new territories, traders were looking for new trade routes to Asia, and others wanted to spread Christianity. In addition, improvements in navigational science and shipbuilding further stimulated European explorers to travel.
Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, believed that the world was round, and that by sailing west, he would eventually reach Asia in the east. In 1492, he made his first voyage to the west with the support of the Spanish monarchy and discovered Caribbean islands and South and Central America. This region was called the New World. He made three more voyages between 1493 and 1504 and brought many Spanish settlers to the Americas. The Spanish settled in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola in the Caribbean as well as in Central and South America. In North America, they settled in Florida in 1565, and later in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California. The Spanish were mainly interested in finding gold and converting the Indians to Christianity. They established large farms called plantations and used Native Indians, and later, Africans as slaves to work on these plantations.
The first permanent French settlement was established in Quebec, Canada in 1608. The French settled along the St. Lawrence and Mississippi rivers and the Great Lakes. They were also interested in
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converting the Indians to Christianity but the main reason why they settled in these regions was to engage in fur trading. The English settled in the thirteen colonies along the northern Atlantic seacoast of America. They settled for religious, political and economic reasons. In England, during the middle of the sixteenth century, nonconformist religious groups such as the Puritans and Quakers suffered continued persecution by the Church of England. These groups wanted religious freedom and migrated to the New World. The colony of Massachusetts Bay was founded in 1630 by Pilgrims and Puritans, who had left the Church of England because they did not agree with its policies. By 1682, seven colonies had been founded in the New World by people desiring the chance to be free to practice their chosen religion.
Others wanted to escape from the political unrest of the Civil War in England between 1642 and 1645. Economic factors also played an important role in the flow of migration. During this time, there were many unemployed, landless farmers who wanted to leave England and work as laborers in America. Many criminals and debtors, people who owed money, were given the choice of imprisonment for their crimes or migration to the New World, and chose migration. THE FIRST COLONIES
The colonies were divided into the three regions of New England, Middle Atlantic and
Southern. Each region had a different geography and culture which affected its social, political, religious and economic life.
The New England colonies consisted of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New
Hampshire. The main settlers in this region came from England and Scotland. The Pilgrims, a Protestant nonconformist group, were the first Europeans to arrive in New England, in their ship, the Mayflower, in 1620. They eventually settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Other settlers were Puritans who were strongly influenced by religion. Their lives were based around the town. All community members and local government officials were expected to be church members. The most common occupation was small farming done on family plots. Nevertheless, the geography of the region posed a great challenge for the Puritan farmers because good soil was limited, the summer growing season was short and the winters were long and extremely cold. As a result of this, the settlers had to find other economic activities. New England eventually became a large center for shipbuilding, fishing, trade and manufacturing.
The Middle Atlantic or Middle colonies included the states of New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The population in this region was a diverse one which included German, Dutch and Scottish-Irish settlers. Each town had a local government. The main economic activity was farming. In contrast to the New England colonies, the soil in this area was very fertile and farms were larger. The climate was also milder and this provided a longer growing season. The settlers also had other types of economic activities which included the manufacturing of paper, glass and textiles. New York and Philadelphia became shipbuilding centers and also exported corn, meat and other foodstuffs to England and other countries.
The Southern colonies were Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The settlers came from different parts of Europe but mostly from England. The first successful permanent English
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colony was Jamestown, Virginia, which was settled in 1607. Also, the first African slaves to come to America in 1619 were sent to Virginia. Social life in the Southern colonies differed considerably from that in the New England and Middle colonies. Agriculture was the main activity in this region, because the climate was warmer and the soil extremely fertile. There were many farmers who had small farms but the wealthiest and most influential people were the owners of large tobacco, rice and cotton plantations who grew these crops for export. These owners, or planters, used indentured laborers, who were temporary workers from England, as well as African slaves as their main labor supply. As the market for tobacco grew, planters brought more slaves from Africa to work in the fields. In contrast, slavery in the New England and Middle colonies was less common. At the end of the colonial period, seven out of every eight slaves lived in the South. In the Southern colonies, each town had its own local government. Social life was similar to that in England and this was evident in the way in which people talked and dressed and in the architectural style of their houses.
The early settlers in the first colonies had a good relationship with the Native Indians. For
example, the early settlers of Jamestown depended on food supplies from the Algonquin Indians to survive. The Indians also taught the first Pilgrims to plant crops such as squash and corn. Trade also developed between the British and French settlers and the Indians. In Canada and the Great Lakes region, the main occupation was fur trading in which both the French and the Iroquois Indians engaged. The French had a good relationship with the Indians. Compared to other Europeans in North America, the French did not take away large portions of Indian lands for settlements, nor did they destroy the forests and animals that the Indians depended on for survival.
As Europeans migrated to America, the Indians lost more of their lands. As a result, the relationship between these settlers and Native Indians became hostile and fighting erupted continuously between the two groups. In addition, the social interaction between the Indians and the settlers led to outbreaks of diseases in the Indian population to which they had little resistance. Measles and smallpox significantly decreased the Native American population in North, South and Central America.
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THE FIRST COLONIES
Schwach, Howard J. (1987). Foundations in American History From Discovery to Reconstruction, 35. New Jersey: Globe Fearon, Pearson Learning Group.
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LESSON 1 STUDY QUESTIONS 1. _______ Columbus brought many settlers to North America. 2. _______ Most of the Europeans who migrated to the United States came for religious
reasons. 3. ______During the colonial period the main economic activity in all regions was farming. 4. _____The first Europeans to establish permanent settlements in North America were the
French. 5. The Ice Age can be best defined as:
a. The continuous layers of ice found in the northern hemispheres of the world b. The freezing and lowering of the world’s ocean levels over 10,000 years ago c. The movement of large sheets of ice across Siberia and North America about 10,000 years ago d. The period over 10,000 years ago when the northern hemisphere was covered with large ice sheets
6. The first people to establish permanent settlements in the New World were the
a. French b. Spanish c. English d. Africans
7. The first settlers in America came from:
a. northeast Asia b. India c. the East Indies d. Alaska
8. The Ice Age can be best defined as:
a. The continuous layers of ice found in the northern hemispheres of the world b. The freezing and lowering of the world’s ocean levels over 10,000 years ago c. The movement of large sheets of ice across Siberia and North America about 10,000 years ago d. The period over 10,000 years ago when the northern hemisphere was covered with large ice sheets
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9. Which was the main direction that was taken by the early Indian migrants in their journey
from Asia? a. south b. southeast c. southwest d. east
10. In which of the colonies was there the greatest degree of religious toleration?
a. Rhode Island b. Delaware c. Pennsylvania d. Virginia
ANSWERS TO LESSON 1 QUESTIONS
1 F 2 F 3 T 4 F 5 D 6 B 7 A 8 D 9 B 10 A
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LESSON 2
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND NEW REPUBLIC (1754 – 1815)
Conflict between Britain and Colonial America
War of Independence
The Constitution
Early National Period CONFLICT BETWEEN BRITAIN AND COLONIAL AMERICA
Between 1753 and 1763, England and France had been engaged in a war which was called the
French and Indian War, for control of territory in what is now Ohio and western Pennsylvania. After the war, Britain had gained more territory but was severely in debt, and needed to find a way to finance this huge war debt. As a result, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshend Acts of 1767. The Stamp Act mandated that all official documents in the colonies should bear only British stamps. The Townshend Acts stipulated that the colonists had to pay duties on tea, lead and glass. These taxes outraged the colonists who decided to stop buying British products and rebel against British rule. On the night of December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, the men who wanted independence from England, dressed as Indians, boarded the British ships in Boston Harbor that were carrying tea from India, and threw 342 cases of tea into the harbor. This became known as the Boston Tea Party and inspired further revolts in the colonies.
In retaliation for this defiance, the British government stationed more troops in the Boston area and passed new laws in 1774, to make the colonies respect its authority. By these laws, the people of Massachusetts were deprived of the right to trade and conduct business through the port of Boston, and prevented from appointing their own local government representatives. The colonists regarded these acts as unacceptable and called them the “Intolerable Acts.” The passing of the Intolerable Acts strengthened colonial resistance instead of suppressing it. Virginia and the other colonies decided to show support for Massachusetts by sending them food and supplies. In September 1774, at the First Continental Congress, delegates from all of the colonies demanded that the Intolerable Acts be repealed and that all colonists should have the same rights as British citizens. However, the British Parliament and the King refused to change these laws. WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
By 1775, many battles between British soldiers and colonists had taken place in Massachusetts
and other regions. In 1775, a Second Continental Congress assembled to find a solution to the
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conflict with Great Britain. The representatives were also inspired by Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “Common Sense”, which justified the claim that separation from England was necessary. The main reason was that it was a separate geographic region therefore there was no reason for American citizens to remain loyal. As a result, the delegates decided to formulate a Declaration of Independence which was written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration stated that “all men are created equal,” and that all Americans were entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” They argued that the British government had denied them these rights and that it was their prerogative to institute a new government. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776 which marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The Congress also issued a nationwide boycott, or refusal to buy British products. However, the United States still wanted to maintain peaceful relations with England, as an independent country, but the King and Parliament refused to negotiate. As a result, the United States cut off all ties with England and formed its own navy to attack British ships at sea, and an army to protect the colonies. George Washington was made commander in chief of the Continental army. All colonies were expected to provide troops and money for the war.
The British made a strong attempt to regain their control over the town of Boston. However,
the British soldiers, or redcoats were eventually defeated by the Continental army. On the other hand, in the Middle colonies the British forces captured New York and Philadelphia and forced the American army to retreat. A major turning point came in 1777, when the Americans defeated the British in Saratoga, New York. The final phase of the war took place in the South where the British had control of the Carolinas and Georgia. By forming an alliance or union with the French, the American army was able to defeat the British. The final victory was on October 19, 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. For the Americans, the War of Independence had been won. Nevertheless, the war was not declared officially over until the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783, when the British acknowledged the independence of the colonies.
THE CONSTITUTION
In 1777, the Continental Congress had formed a preliminary national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles made the former thirteen colonies free and independent states. It was also under the Articles that Congress was able to bring the Revolutionary War to a successful conclusion with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. They also passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These ordinances made provisions for the sale of land or the exploration and settlement and eventual statehood of territories in the northwest regions of the country. When these regions had 60,000 inhabitants they were able to adopt a constitution and apply for statehood. The states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin were formed in this way.
However, the government displayed a poor national leadership quality which did not command respect from other countries abroad. It did not prove to be effective as a form of government because the individual states had too much power and the central government had too little. It consisted only of a Congress which had no power to directly impose taxes upon the people but could only request funds from the individual states. They could also issue money but could not prevent individual states from issuing their own currencies. The central government also had no power to regulate interstate trade and foreign commerce. They also had no power to raise a national army and could only request that the individual states supply troops.
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In May 1787, representatives from twelve states gathered in Philadelphia to develop a new Constitution, that is, laws that would create a powerful national government. The delegates believed that a strong central government was needed but not one with unlimited powers. One major problem that developed was the issue of the representation of slave states in Congress because slaves were regarded as property and not human beings. This controversy was resolved by the three-fifths compromise, which mandated that each slave be counted as three-fifths of a person when establishing the total population for state representation.
The idea of federalism was developed, which meant that power would be divided between
national and state governments. The constitution gave the national or federal government the power to make treaties with foreign countries, maintain the army, collect taxes, raise money and impose duties on imported goods. The individual states still had the power to establish local governments and schools and to regulate trade within the states.
The Constitution divided the government into three branches: the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The division of power among the branches is called separation of powers. The framers of the Constitution did not want any one branch of government to have too much power, so other laws were passed to limit the power of each branch. These laws are known as the system of checks and balances.
The president is the head of the Executive branch of the government and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He also has the power to check Congress by vetoing legislation, and the federal courts by nominating and appointing judges. This branch also implements and enforces the laws that have been passed by Congress.
The Legislative branch, Congress, is divided into two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Its main function is to make laws for the country and declare war. It also can check the power of the president by refusing to approve his proposals, his appointments or treaties. Congress also has the power to if necessary, remove the president from office. The role of the Judicial branch is to interpret and execute the federal laws. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. It has the power to declare the actions of the executive branch constitutional. It can also declare laws passed by Congress unconstitutional. The Supreme Court also makes the final decision in important federal laws and cases.
POWERS GIVEN TO FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
BOTH STATE GOVERNMENT
1. To control foreign trade 2. To make treaties 3. To declare war 4. To coin money 5. To make laws about citizenship
1. To tax 2. To set up courts 3. To make and enforce laws
1. To set up local governments 2. To hold elections 3. To provide education 4. To control local businesses
(1984). Follett Coping Skills Series: The Government and You, 14. New Jersey: Cambridge Adult Education: Prentice-Hall Incorporated.
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THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
PRESIDENT/EXECUTIVE CONGRESS SUPREME COURT
POWERS
POWERS
POWERS 1. Carries out laws 2. Can veto bills 3. Appoints judges 4. Conducts foreign policy 5. Commander-in-Chief of armed forces
1. Makes laws 2. Can override a president’s veto 3. Can impeach or remove a president from office 4. Approves president’s appointment of judges 5. Approves treaties 6. Declares war
1. Interprets laws 2. Can declare laws unconstitutional
(1984). Follett Coping Skills Series: The Government and You, 14. New Jersey: Cambridge Adult Education: Prentice-Hall Incorporated. EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD
Before the constitution could be ratified it had to be passed by nine out of the thirteen states.
This process caused a division among the state representatives and the development of the first political parties. The delegates who supported a strong central government were called Federalists. Those who opposed were called Anti-Federalists, or Democratic Republicans. The Federalists were strong in the northeast, and were led mostly by landowners, business people and bankers who wanted a strong government to protect their interests. The anti-Federalists were mainly shopkeepers and small farmers from the southern and western territories who favored individual liberties. The Federalists were led by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. In 1854 the supporters of this group became the Republican Party which exists today. The Anti-Federalists were led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. They were also known as the Democratic Republican Party.
The Constitution was ratified on September 17, 1787, and George Washington a Federalist, was
elected the first president on August 30, 1789. In order to resolve the opposing opinions, ten amendments were added to the constitution in 1791. They became the Bill of Rights. Together, they restrict the power of the central government by listing the basic freedoms of American citizens that have to be observed by the federal government. The Democratic Republican Party later became the present day Democratic Party. However, the Republican Party of today was not formed until 1854. Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. His main goal was to restore the American economy. He proposed a number of measures to help the country develop and pay its national debt at home and abroad. In order to encourage foreign investment he proposed a national banking system and a federal currency. Money was also raised by the Tariff Act of 1789 that raised taxes on imported goods. This gave American business owners the opportunity to produce and sell their own manufactured goods for lower prices.
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LESSON 2 STUDY QUESTIONS Write T if the answer is True and F if the answer is False 1. ______ The first Continental Congress was organized to provide American colonists with
the same taxes that British citizens had. 2. ______ The stationing of British troops in Boston was part of the Intolerable Acts. .3. ______ The Continental army also protected the colonies from British warships. 4. ______ Military aid from France played an important part in the American victory at
Yorktown in 1781. 5 ______ The colonies became officially independent after the defeat of the British at Yorktown. 6. ______ Under federalism individual states could impose taxes on foreign goods. 7. ______ The Land Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 helped settlers to move to new territories. 8. ______ The first ten amendments to the Constitution limited the power of the federal
government because they protected individual liberties. 9. ______ The Democratic Republicans were the forerunners of today’s Democratic Party. 10. ______The Federalists believed in a government that favored small farmers. ANSWERS TO LESSON 2 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 F 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 F 7 T 8 T 9 T 10 F
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LESSON 3
SECTIONALISM AND SLAVERY (1789 – 1860)
Economy and Society of the Northern States
Economy and Society of the Southern States
Slavery and the Antislavery Movements
Conflict between North and South ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF THE NORTHERN STATES
Up to the period of the Revolutionary War, most settlers in the northern states raised crops for their own subsistence rather than for sale at markets. The majority of people also made their own homes, clothes, and furniture. There were also small shopkeepers who provided general supplies. However, by the early 1800’s, the War of 1812 and the Industrial Revolution changed the economic and social ways in which people lived.
In 1812, the United States declared war against Britain. The War of 1812 was fought because the British continually interfered with American trade with other European nations and encouraged Indian uprisings in the West. The war helped to unite Americans by making national interests a priority and convincing them that the country was militarily strong enough to keep its independence. It also opened up more land in the West for settlement since the British threat had been removed. The war also led to the growth of American industries because the country had been cut off from European imports. Therefore, American industries had to meet the public demands for goods by producing more. When the war ended in 1814, the North was already on its way to becoming an industrial center. The Industrial Revolution that had begun in England had also reached America. Many of the new technological and scientific ideas were brought overseas by investors who paid skilled workers to bring this knowledge to the United States. This was marked by an extensive development in manufacturing and transportation technology, primarily in the northern states. These advances in machine technology changed the whole nature of work and business trends. Handmade methods of production gave way to machine methods, and manufacturing shifted from homes to factories. For example, the invention of the power loom in 1813 made it possible for textile manufacturers to produce fabric more efficiently, at a faster rate, and in larger quantities in their own factories. The resulting product was of a higher quality and less expensive than the homemade product. Women eventually started buying cloth from textile manufacturers rather than weaving it themselves. Industrialization spread rapidly in the northeast because the region had many natural resources such as coal, iron, and rivers which supplied the water power for new factories. The first successful
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factories were Moses Brown’s cotton spinning mills in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. New York City also developed into a major trade and manufacturing center. The expansion of industry stimulated the development of communication and transportation technology such as the telegraph, the steam engine that used steam for power on land and water, the railroads, canals and new roadways. All of these innovations allowed factories to be built at any locations and people to be able to move with greater ease to these locations. Between 1800 and 1850, thousands of people migrated from the southern states to the North to find work in the growing cities as craftsmen, laborers, and factory workers. Women also worked in factories but mostly the ones related to the clothing industry. In the North, there were more opportunities for social advancement. The wealthiest people were referred to as aristocrats. The middle class was comprised of tradesmen and other professionals. Many people in the middle class originally rose from the working class. The working class was made up of factory workers, domestic servants and others in various low-paying jobs. The people that usually lived in poverty were the most recent immigrants from Europe. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY OF THE SOUTHERN STATES
In contrast to the North, there were few major urban centers in the southern states. The majority of the people lived in isolated communities. Since there were no major cities, there were no large commercial centers. The region had a warmer climate and an abundance of fertile soil and as a result the economy was dependent on agriculture. Most southerners grew what they needed to survive. While the North developed transportation technology in the form of railroads, canals and roadways, the South did not. The most developed city was New Orleans which had a large trading industry which was done using the major waterways. The wealthiest people with the highest status were the plantation owners that made up a small minority of the population and owned most of the slaves. Cotton, tobacco, rice and other crops were grown on these plantations for the needs of the families and slaves. Cotton was an extremely profitable crop as it was also sold to manufacturing and textile mills in the North, or exported. Other landowners with smaller farms were called Yeomen. They farmed their lands with only the help of their families. They produced mostly subsistence and cash crops that they sold, and raised livestock. The poorest whites were the ones who owned no land and hired themselves out as manual laborers. During the colonial period, the planters first used Native Indians and European indentured laborers to work on their plantations. When these workers proved to be unreliable, African slaves were imported. They were the preferred type of laborers because they were regarded as the property of their owners. After the War of Independence, there were about 500,000 slaves in the country. By 1860, there were nearly 4 million slaves in the South. They lived in one-room cabins that were usually insanitary and overcrowded, and they usually worked from dawn to dusk. Others worked as servants in plantation houses. There were also over 250,000 free blacks. They were the descendants of slaves who had been given their freedom by their owners, or had achieved freedom because they fought in the Revolutionary War. Most worked as tenant farmers or became skilled laborers.
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Cotton growing ultimately stimulated the growth of slavery in other territories as many planters migrated westward with their slaves looking for new lands to grow cotton. Ultimately, slavery and cotton-growing moved to Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana.
SLAVERY AND THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
As a result of the decline of the Native American population due to European diseases, the
Portuguese, Spanish and French began searching for new sources of labor and began enslaving West Africans. As the tobacco, rice and indigo plantations grew, the British colonies also began to participate in the slave trade and by the early 1700’s the British dominated the Transatlantic slave trade.
The slave trade was also known as the triangular trade because it involved three separate voyages in three different geographic regions of the world. During the colonial period there were many different triangular routes connecting America, Europe and Africa. In the first part of the journey New England slave traders or merchants traveled to the West African coast and traded rum, cloth and iron goods for slaves. The voyage across the Atlantic was called the Middle Passage and hundreds of slaves were packed into the cargo holds of ships in the most insanitary conditions. Thousands died from disease and hunger before they reached America. When the ships reached the West Indies the slaves were sold mostly for sugar and molasses. The ships destined for the United States brought slaves and sugar to the colonies, where they were sold.
By 1700 slavery was firmly established in the southern colonies and as the number of slaves increased, laws were imposed that placed restrictions on their behavior. Many slave families were broken up. They were not allowed to learn to read and write, gather in groups, testify in court or strike their owners. After the War of Independence, more white citizens believed that slavery should be abolished. Small religious societies like the Quakers believed that slavery was morally wrong and refused to keep slaves. The Immediatists wanted the immediate emancipation of slaves. In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison published the popular abolitionist newspaper called the Liberator, which did much to help the abolitionist movement. Another important person who contributed to making the public aware of the evils of slavery was Harriet Beecher Stowe. In 1852 her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. It portrayed that slavery was not a political problem but an inhumane institution.
The slaves also resisted slavery in many ways by running away, sabotage, or work slowdowns.
There were also rare outbreaks of open slave rebellion. The abolitionist movement was primarily supported by the free black activists. A famous activist was Harriet Tubman who organized the Underground Railroad which was a network of escape routes that provided a series of safe houses where runaway slaves could hide as they made their way to the North and Canada. Other famous African American abolitionists were Frederick Douglass who wrote about the evils of slavery, and Sojourner Truth, who campaigned for women’s rights and emancipation. The continued work of the abolitionists pushed the issue of slavery into the national and political spotlight and ultimately culminated in the Civil War.
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THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND ESTIMATED SLAVE IMPORTS 1400-1800
Digilio, Karen Scott. (1988). GED Social Studies: Exercise Book, 7. Chicago: Contemporary Books Incorporated.
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SLAVE TRADE STATISTICS
Number of live slaves taken from West Africa between 1451-1870
British Caribbean
1,664,500
French Caribbean
1,599,900
Dutch Caribbean
500,000
Danish Caribbean
28,000
Brazil
3,646,800
North America
399,000
Spanish America
1,552,100
Europe
175,000
Sao Tome
100,000
Atlantic Islands
25,000
Total 9,690,300 Curtin P.D.(1972). The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census. University of Wisconsin Press.
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CONFLICT BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH
By 1850, the federal government was in control of all the regions of the country. Nevertheless, there was a feeling of sectionalism between the northern and southern states as citizens displayed more loyalty to their individual states than to the Union of states as a whole. There were many issues that were pulling the regions of the nation apart. Many regions did not agree with the tariffs or taxes that were imposed on foreign goods.
The major issues revolved around the balance of power between the individual states and the federal government. The first one was the tariff issue of 1828. The southern states opposed the protective tariff imposed on imported goods by the government because it raised the prices of these products for southern consumers. On the other hand, the northern states supported the tariff because their industries were able to sell their manufactured goods at lower prices. Another issue that provoked sectional differences was the rapid movement of settlers westward, and whether the new territories should be slave or free states. Some believed that slavery should not be permitted in the new territories but they did not advocate removing slavery from the areas where it already existed. Others had the opinion that if the new states allowed slavery then the South would become too powerful and if slavery was banned then the power would shift to the northern regions. By 1850, there were fifteen free states and fifteen slave states. When California applied for statehood, an agreement known as the Compromise of 1850 was made with the government. This agreement made California a free state but stipulated that all escaped slaves must be returned to their former owners. This stipulation became known as the Fugitive Slave Law. This law created even greater conflict between the North and South as many northerners refused to obey the Fugitive Slave law, because they believed slaves were entitled to their freedom once they reached a free state. The case of Dred Scott made the situation worse between North and South. Dred Scott was a former slave who sued for his freedom when his master took him to a free state. The Supreme Court ruled that even though Scott had been taken to a free state he was still the property of his master. This enraged northerners and the anti-slavery movement because it meant that it was legal to extend slavery into all territories including those that had been declared free by the constitution.
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SLAVE AND FREE STATES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
Claypole, William, Robottom, John. (1989). Caribbean Story: Book One: Foundations, 90. Longman Group Limited.
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STUDY QUESTIONS LESSON 3 Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false. 1. ______The steam engine improved inland transportation by land and water. 2. ______The northern states had the natural resources that facilitated the development of
factories. 3. ______Native Indians worked as slaves on large farms in the South before African slaves
were used. 4. _____ Cotton was the most profitable crop in the South. 5. _____ Plantation owners had the largest percentage of slaves in the southern states. 6. _____The Underground Railroad was a network of safe houses that helped runaway slaves
escape to the North. 7. _____Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written about the inhumanity of slavery. 8. _____In the Dred Scott case the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the power to
abolish slavery. 9. _____The Fugitive Slave Law stated that all escaped slaves must be returned to their
former owners. 10. _____A major issue that led to sectional differences was whether slavery should be allowed
in new territories. ANSWERS TO LESSON 3 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 T 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 T 7 T 8 F 9 T 10 T
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LESSON 4
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (1861 – 1877)
The Civil War
The Emancipation Proclamation
Reconstructing the Union
Westward Expansion THE CIVIL WAR
When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1861, the conflict escalated. He promised to
restrict slavery to the states where it already existed. The southern states feared that they were going to be dominated by the North and decided to secede from the Union.
The South believed that the federal Union was created by the states and that they had the right to secede. The first states to secede were Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Delegates from the seceding states also met and formed the “Confederate States of America”. They designed their own constitution that stipulated that slavery was a legal institution and that each state was an independent region and was entitled to make its own decisions. Richmond, Virginia was made the Confederate capital.
President Lincoln, however, was determined to preserve the Union even if it meant declaring war on the South. The Civil War began in 1861, when the southern Confederacy seized Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and Lincoln sent troops to put down the rebellion. This action caused Virginia and more southern states to secede and war began between North and South.
The southern Confederate army was led by Robert E. Lee between 1861 and 1865. The Union
forces were led by Ulysses S. Grant. The North was twice invaded by the South but the North had many victories. On April 9, 1865, the final phase of the war took place when General Lee surrendered to Grant in the town of Appomattox in Virginia.
The Civil War had variable effects in the North. Northern industrialists made huge profits from
the war as they had to provide the goods and supplies for the war as well as the general public. During this time there was tremendous growth in the meat packing industries, oil refining and steel production. On the other hand, the war took an enormous personal and economic toll. More than 3 million men died. The governments of the North and South had huge debts. The South experienced devastating losses in all areas of life.
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THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
The Emancipation Proclamation was made by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It freed all slaves in Confederate states. This however, could not be enforced by the Union. In addition, Lincoln made the proclamation to give the northerners a moral and humanistic reason for the war and to provide more black soldiers to fight in the war. The proclamation did not free the slaves immediately but indicated that all slaves would be free after the northern army won the war. Another limitation was that the proclamation did not apply to slaveholding states that were in the Union.
Subsequently, the Union army grew to include over 180,000 free slaves. Of the total number of African Americans to serve in the Union army, approximately 100,000 were former slaves, and almost 40,000 lost their lives in battle. They usually served in all-black units commanded by white officers. RECONSTRUCTING THE UNION
After the war, President Lincoln formulated a plan to reunite the nation into one Union of states. The plan became known as the Ten Percent Plan. By this plan, Lincoln proposed to offer amnesty, or an official pardon, to southern Confederates, for their actions during the war. They in turn had to agree to take an oath of loyalty to the Union, and obedience to Congress and the Constitution. They also had to accept the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery. Then they could vote to elect new state governments.
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before the plan became effective, but the next president, Andrew Johnson, continued Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction. However, Radical Republicans controlled Congress and wanted different terms for the southern states to be readmitted into the Union. So they instituted Radical Reconstruction, which stipulated that the South had to be divided into five military districts that were to be controlled by the federal army. The states also had to agree to having new constitutions and government officials that were not former Confederates. Many provisions were also made to improve the political, social and economic lives of African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment of 1866 gave citizenship rights to all people in the South except Native Americans, and the Fifteenth Amendment of 1869 gave all black males the right to vote. The Freedmen’s Bureau was also established to provide food, shelter, clothing, work, and education for the black community.
Many people who left the North to help rebuild the south came to be known as carpetbaggers, because they came to the South with a few possessions in a bag. Many became powerful influences in government and others became wealthy due to the new business opportunities that were available, or by political corruption.
From an economic perspective, many Southerners were not forced to pay for war damages or
give up their plantation lands. Many only had to endure military occupation and or the influence of northern representative government. Nevertheless, the end of slavery posed a serious economic threat because the economy of the south was based on agriculture and the plantation system. Many large landowners had to divide their lands and rent portions to white tenant farmers. They also gained profits from their land by distributing portions to poor black or white sharecroppers in exchange for half of their crop production. Southern farmers also changed their methods of farming and placed more
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emphasis on growing a wider variety of crops rather than depending on a single crop for income. This proved to be beneficial because it ended years of soil depletion and made the land more fertile.
Another effect was the development of industry in the South. The southern states had many
resources such as minerals, abundant water supplies and cheap labor. Oil refineries and steel mills became established, tobacco planting led to the establishment of cigarette factories and the cotton industry gave rise to textile mills. Many southerners left the rural areas to work in the new factory towns such as Birmingham Alabama. By 1900, industrial growth in the South was four times the pre-Civil War level. In spite of this, the South still remained behind the North in industrial development.
In many ways Reconstruction was not considered a complete success. The policies of the
Radical Reconstruction era remained strong until the 1870’s. However, by 1872, many northerners felt that the government had done enough to help the black population rebuild their lives. President Ulysses S. Grant also decided to remove all federal troops from the south. Also, many former Confederate government officials still had much power and influence in government and society. As a result, African Americans had little opportunity to exercise their new constitutional rights because many southern states instituted laws called Black Codes that denied blacks the right to bear arms, serve on juries, and hold positions in banking and politics. They were not allowed to vote by laws that made it necessary for them to pass literacy tests or pay poll taxes that they could not afford. They were also constantly terrorized by secret societies of white resistance groups such as the Ku Klux Klan who refused to acknowledge that slavery had ended. The Ku Klux Klan killed many African Americans and their white supporters and often burned their houses, schools, and churches. Even during the period of Reconstruction the federal government was powerless to prevent the southern governments from creating new laws called Jim Crow laws that imposed segregation, or the separation of races, in all aspects of social life such as schools, neighborhoods, railroads, and shops. These laws were further sanctioned in 1896 by the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision which stipulated that all public facilities could be separate for blacks and whites as long as they were of equal quality.
WESTWARD EXPANSION
Even though the first established settlements in America were along the north and south coastal regions there were many citizens who decided to settle further west. After the Revolutionary War and the early national period, the new government wanted the country to expand to include more territories in the west. The third president, Thomas Jefferson, believed that all obstacles to further expansion should be removed. In 1802, Jefferson admitted the state of Ohio into the Union. In 1803, he doubled the size of the country when he purchased the Louisiana Territory, a large area of land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, from France. This historic purchase was called the Louisiana Purchase. Between 1804 and 1806, Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the northwestern regions of the country and provide information about future settlement in these territories. In the 1840’s, Americans were also encouraged to move further west by the popular phrase “manifest destiny”. This phrase meant that the United States had the divine mission to continually expand its territory in order to spread the ideals of democracy and freedom for all. During this time, a number of territories had been taken from England and Spain and added to the American Union of
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states. After a war with Mexico, and a payment of 15 million dollars to that country, the territories of New Mexico and California were added to the states in 1848. Oregon was taken from the British and became a state in 1859.
California and the Rocky mountain regions attracted many settlers because of their vast mineral
resources of gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc ore. The Gold Rush that began in California in 1848 drew people from all over the world to that state. By the following year, there were about 100,000 people mining for gold. By 1860, many native Indians had been forced off of their homelands by government policies and treaties that forced them to live on smaller areas of land in new territories called reservations. They also had to move after years of fighting with settlers who wanted to occupy their lands. By 1881 most Native Americans lived on reservations.
New technologies such as steamships and railroads contributed significantly to helping people to migrate West. Railroads helped the farming industries develop because it was now easier for farmers in the West to transport their crops to markets in the east. In 1872, Congress awarded the railroad companies that had lines across the nation over 170 million acres of land to expand throughout the country. In turn, many of the railroad companies sold large portions of land to the farmers who needed land and the services of the railroad. By doing so, the railroads made extra profits. Many African Americans migrated west using the railroads or boats. One of the largest black settlements that they developed was in the Oklahoma territory where they established thirty towns between 1890 and 1910. The government also gave many settlers grants of land to develop farms under the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Desert Act of 1877. Over 400,000 people acquired land because of these acts. In the Great Plains, cattle ranching became big business because of rich soil and large grassland areas. In the Ohio Valley, grain production and dairy farming were the main activities.
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WESTWARD EXPANSION
(1973). 200 Years: A Bicentennial Illustrated History of the United States, Volume One, 266. U.S. News and World Report Incorporated.
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STUDY QUESTIONS LESSON 4 Write T if the statement is True and F if it is False. Check your answers. 1. _____The northern economy did well as a result of the Civil War. 2. _____The South was defeated by Robert E. Lee’s forces at Fort Sumter in 1865. 3. _____The Emancipation Proclamation immediately ended slavery throughout the United
States 4. _____Black soldiers usually served in integrated army units. 5. _____In spite of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union could not enforce the laws in
slave states. 6. _____Jim Crow laws desegregated all public facilities for blacks and whites. 7. _____The Ku Klux Klan wanted to restore slavery to the South. 8. _____Government policies forced many Native Indians to live on reservations. 9. _____The Gold Rush was responsible for the rapid population increase in California. 10. _____Cattle ranching was one of the main economic occupations in the Great Plains. ANSWERS TO LESSON 4 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 T 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 T 6 F 7 T 8 T 9 T 10 T
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LESSON 5
THE MODERN AGE (1870 – 1914)
Immigration
Social Reform
The Progressive Era IMMIGRATION
Throughout the 1700’s and early 1800’s many immigrants migrated to the United States from
Europe, Asia, and Latin America in hope of a better life. After 1880, the demand for unskilled workers for the factories in the major cities in the North increased. This led to an even greater migration of people from eastern and southern Europe. In New York for example, immigrants were the preferred workers. Factory owners did not want to hire African Americans and many white Americans preferred to work in retail stores and offices or on farms. Secondly, immigrants were prepared to work long hours for very low wages.
Most immigrants lived in poverty, and were affected by disease, crime and lack of available
housing. As the number of poor immigrants in the cities increased, the middle class moved out of the cities to suburban neighborhoods. Many immigrants experienced prejudice from native-born Americans who resented having to compete with them for jobs. As a result, large numbers of immigrants settled in ethnic neighborhoods for protection and to preserve their culture.
Large numbers of Chinese and Japanese immigrants settled in western coastal regions of
California. They came to work in the goldmines and on the farms and railroads. They were also persecuted by Americans and many also settled in their own ethnic neighborhoods. Immigrants from Latin America, Puerto Rico and Cuba settled throughout the eastern and western coastal regions.
The immigrants who came during the early part of the twentieth century to America brought
many diverse cultural heritages with them. They found employment in many industries and some became identified with specific industries. Jews worked in the garment industries. The Italians and the Irish made great contributions to the transportation industries. Many eastern Europeans like the Poles worked in mining industries and steel mills. Mexicans worked in the field of agriculture.
Immigrants have contributed to the social and economic growth of America by increasing the
demands for more products, goods and services. They have also encouraged the growth of businesses by providing additional labor. Many immigrants have successfully assimilated into American society by learning to speak English fluently and participating in American cultural activities. Many have also become very successful and have contributed significantly to American culture. This is evident in the ethnic variety that exists in American food, literature, music and art.
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IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES 1820-1976
Years Number Of
Immigrants
Selected Countries of
Origin 1820-1840 1841-1860 1861-1880 1881-1900 1901-1920 1921- 1940 1941-1960 1961-1976 Total
750,949 4,311,465 5,127,015 8,934,177 14,531,197 4,635,640 3,550,518 5,760,258 47,601,219
Ireland, Great Britain France Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Britain Germany, Ireland, Canada, China Austria-Hungary Germany, Russia, Italy Italy, Russia, Greece, Austria-Hungary, Japan Poland, Canada, Mexico, Czechoslovakia Germany, Philippines, Mexico, Korea Mexico, West Indies, Vietnam, Philippines
Branson, Margaret Simmann. (1986). American Heritage Activity Book, 26. Ginn and Company. SOCIAL REFORM
Between 1860 and 1900, the number of American cities grew on a rapid scale due to
industrialization and improvements in transportation. In factories, issues related to the health, comfort and safety of workers was largely ignored. For example, most factory laborers, many of them women and children, worked 60-80 hours per week for low wages. They were also crammed together with little air. They also received no disability compensation if they were injured on the job. After a number of serious accidents, labor reform groups appealed to the state governments to implement
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better safety measures in factories. Consequently, work hours were changed to 54 hours per week and child labor was banned for all children under the age of fourteen years. Reform groups also organized labor unions to encourage workers to protest for better working conditions and higher pay. In 1881, the American Federation of Labor, a nationwide union, helped to secure the introduction of new minimum wage laws.
Other social reformers made attempts to improve the lives of the large number of people in cities who lived in poverty. Jacob Riis, a police reporter in New York, made the public aware, through his newspaper articles, of the way in which people lived in the tenements, or slums. As a result, local officials improved public sanitation, tore down many tenements and improved housing. They also built more public schools and playgrounds.
In Chicago, Jane Addams opened the first settlement house, which was called Hull House. It was a community center that provided social services for immigrants, especially in poor neighborhoods. Among the services provided were day-care centers for children of working mothers and English lessons. Settlement houses laid the foundation for the Progressive Movement. For African Americans in the South, it was difficult for social reform to take place on a large scale, because Jim Crow laws segregated blacks and whites in all areas of life. Many migrated to the North to find better social and economic opportunities. Between 1890 and 1900 thousands of African Americans left the South and moved to the northern cities. This was known as the Great Migration. By 1920, there were more than 1.4 million black Americans living in northern cities. However, many African Americans experienced de facto discrimination in the North. They were often denied jobs or offered the least desirable ones and were only allowed to live in neighborhoods with other blacks. One of the greatest areas of reform that took place was in education. Many prominent African Americans used their resources to open colleges and universities in the North and South. For example, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama was founded by Booker T. Washington. THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
The term Progressivism refers to the widespread efforts made by the middle class after 1900, to improve the quality of life of the poor, end political corruption and help the government create more laws that were responsive to the needs of all citizens. This period lasted from 1901 to 1917 and was also known as the Progressive Era. Many progressives were journalists who were called muckrakers, because they wrote about the corrupt policies and practices of government officials and large industries such as the oil industry. The progressives advocated that high officials in city governments should be hired and not elected, in order to limit their power. Voters also gained more power to remove government officials from office. The progressives also caused the introduction of new laws that established worker’s compensation and labor laws that reduced the working hours of women and children. Other laws were passed that limited the power of many large private companies that owned public utilities such as gas and electricity. These companies were eventually taken over by the city governments that regulated the prices for these services.
President Theodore Roosevelt was elected in 1901. He also supported the philosophy and work of the progressive movement. He used his influence to pass laws that limited the power of large
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business monopolies and railroad companies. He also formed the Food and Drug Administration, to ensure the safety of food and medicines, and created new policies to protect the country’s national parks.
One of the greatest successes during the Progressive Era was the success of the women’s suffragette movement in securing voting rights for women. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote was added to the Constitution. STUDY QUESTIONS LESSON 5 Write T if the statement is True and F if it is False. Check your answers. 1. ______ Many native-born Americans were hostile towards European and Asian
immigrants. 2. ______Immigrants have made significant contributions to modern American culture. 3. ______Immigrants lived in ethnic neighborhoods because they did not want to work with
Americans. 4. ______ Settlement houses were started by Jane Addams to provide community services for
immigrants. 5. _____ De facto segregation separated blacks and whites in all areas of life. 6. _____The American Federation of Labor was a union that helped to bring about new
minimum wage laws. 7. _____ Labor reform groups wanted workers to have longer working hours with higher pay. 8. _____The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to the same job opportunities as
men. 9. ______ The Progressive Movement helped to bring about changes in laws that limited the
power of large private companies and business monopolies. 10. ______The Progressive Era was the period during the early part of the twentieth century
when social reformers made attempts to make laws to improve the lives of American citizens.
ANSWERS TO LESSON 5 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 T 6 T 2 T 7 F 3 F 8 F 4 T 9 T 5 F 10 T
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LESSON 6
WORLD WAR I AND DOMESTIC CHALLENGES (1914 – 1939)
America Enters the War
Post-War Prosperity
The Great Depression
The New Deal AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR
There were a number of factors that led to the outbreak of World War I which took place in Europe from 1914 to 1918. By the end of the 1800’s many European countries were in competition with one another for colonies, trade and natural resources in Africa, Asia and South America. This was particularly evident in Africa between 1870 and 1914 when a number of imperialist European nations almost went to war over ownership of the territories of the region.
Another cause of tension in Europe that led to war was the growth of nationalism. This is a
strong feeling of loyalty to one’s own nation and the desire to be an independent state. In France, nationalists wanted to regain two territories, Alsace and Lorraine that had been taken by Germany as a result of a war in 1870. The situation was the same in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire which had many smaller states with minorities from Serbia, Poland, Croatia and Czechoslovakia. These states wanted to be independent.
The growth of imperialism and the threat of nationalism led to the buildup of larger armies with
superior weapons in Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. In addition, a system of opposing military alliances developed, which indicated that Europe was in a state of unrest. One alliance was the Triple Entente consisting of Britain, France and Russia. The other one was the Triple Alliance that was made up of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary.
The immediate cause of the war was the assassination of the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian
throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, by a Serbian nationalist. In response to this, Austria declared war on Serbia and Russia came to the defense of Serbia by sending military aid. This led to the other members in the Triple Entente joining the war. By 1914, all of the countries in both alliances were involved in the war. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey and the opposing allies were Russia, France and Britain. After remaining neutral for some years, the United States was drawn into the war for a number of reasons. The first was the fact that the majority of Americans sympathized with the Triple Entente countries, Britain, France and Russia, because many Americans had cultural and family ties with these countries. There were also economic reasons. Trade with the allied countries had increased
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significantly since the war. American industry, agriculture and businesses increased as more goods were exported to Europe. The government also lent over $ 2 billion to the allies by 1917.
The Allies also used effective propaganda in the United States to highlight the virtues of American democracy and the evils of the German monarchy. Germany’s use of submarine warfare was the main reason why the United States decided to enter the war. In 1915, the Germans sank the British passenger ship Lusitania which caused the death of 1,200 people including 128 Americans. Germany had destroyed a lot of American merchant ships and had tried to form an alliance with Mexico to attack the United States if that country decided to join the war. These direct actions by Germany against America brought this country into the war. On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson declared war and America entered the war on the side of the allies. The Central Powers were also undermined by the inclusion of Russia in the war on the side of the allies. The Russian Revolution had taken place in 1917 and the new government wanted to become an ally of the democratic countries. The war ended on November 11, 1918 when Germany signed an armistice, an agreement to stop fighting. The war had taken an enormous toll. A total of 10 million people had been killed and many more had been wounded. POST WAR PROSPERITY
After World War 1, America experienced a recession due to the shift from wartime to a
peacetime economy. Industrial production and exports fell and unemployment rose to 12% in 1921. When Calvin Coolidge became president in 1923, he instituted a period of national recovery.
During the 1920’s the government did much to promote big business interests. The government had a “hands-off” policy in relation to controlling or regulating the growth of business corporations. President Coolidge helped the development of business by reducing taxes from large corporations and the wealthy business people. Many people also invested in stocks in large business corporations. By the end of the 1920’s many industries boomed and half of the country’s wealth was controlled by corporations. By 1929, three-fourths of all American manufactured goods came from about 1,300 corporations. The government also reduced the national debt by raising tariffs on foreign imports. This protected American industry and agriculture and encouraged the public to buy more American manufactured products. During this time, factories lowered their production costs and there was also an increase in corporate mergers.
By the middle of the 1920’s the wealthiest people in America spent a lot of money, purchased most of the consumer goods and lived very luxurious lifestyles. On the other hand, the majority of the population which was comprised of the working class was far from wealthy. Unemployment was still a problem and remained at about 11% throughout the 1920’s. The workers who benefited most from the period of prosperity were the ones who worked in new industries such as the automobile manufacturing and communications industries. Many small farmers were affected by the overproduction and the lower prices for foodstuff, as well as competition from larger agricultural corporations. As a result, many left farming and had to find other occupations. The age of the automobile added significantly to this period of post-war prosperity. The assembly line was developed by Henry Ford who established the Ford Motor Company to produce cars on a massive scale. This caused a reduction in the price of cars and a rapid increase in production and demand. The growth of
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the automobile industry led to the development of other industries like aluminum, plastics, steel and rubber. It also led to the construction of many new and improved motor highways.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The prosperity of the post-war period was short-lived. In 1929, a series of plunges in the
American stock market marked the beginning of what came to be known as the Great Depression or the Great Crash.
The term depression refers to the slow business activity during the 1930’s that led to the
collapse of the economy. The Great Depression was caused by the weaknesses in the economy due to the collapse of individual and corporate stocks (the shares of financial ownership in a business) as well as the overproduction of consumer goods. For example, a large percentage of the population still lived on farms and farmers were growing far more food than the public could buy. Many factories were offering too much credit and producing too many goods. In the 1920’s, 40% of the population lived below the poverty line and could not buy new products. As a result, the economy had to depend on the consumer spending of the middle and upper classes which formed a smaller portion of the society.
In October 1929, the stock market crashed and all individuals and businesses that had bought
stocks as investments lost their money. The effects were devastating. Over 6,000 banks failed and this ruined thousands of people and affected the country’s foreign trade. Businesses, farms and industries went bankrupt and had to lay off their workers, causing even more decline in consumer spending. Due to these circumstances, unemployment rose on a large scale and by 1932 there were over 12 million people unemployed in the United States.
In addition to the economic crisis, farmers in the Midwest regions of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas,
and Colorado also faced further economic ruin from the destruction of their farming environment by a series of droughts that began in 1933. These droughts caused severe dust storms that removed tons of fertile farming topsoil, leaving the land dry and barren. This region became known as the dust bowl. Thousands of families were unable to sustain themselves in these regions and were forced to migrate further west.
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THE DUST BOWL Schwach, Howard J. (1987). Foundations in American History From Discovery to Reconstruction, 172. New Jersey: Globe Fearon, Pearson Learning Group.
THE NEW DEAL
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected in 1932. His main objective was to take
America out of the depression. His program for national recovery was called the New Deal. The goals of the New Deal were to bring about economic recovery and future growth, to provide relief for the citizens who were suffering, and establish reforms to prevent another depression in the future. Roosevelt proposed many laws that were passed to help restore social and economic life. One of the main ones was the Federal Emergency Relief Act that was passed in 1933. It gave direct aid in the form of cash, clothing, and shelter to the unemployed and destitute. Jobs were also created for young men by agencies like the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. Other laws were passed to help people keep their homes and farms if they could not make the payments. In 1934 the Federal Housing Administration helped people to buy new homes. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 paid farmers to produce less of the basic commodities like corn, wheat and cotton. This measure was developed to ensure the recovery of the agricultural industry by raising the prices of foodstuff and other commodities after cutting the rate of production. The National Recovery Act of the same year helped industries to recover by setting up new standards of production and minimum wages. Congress also helped business and trade by making laws to control trading in stocks. Other laws were also made to control the national banking system and protect people from losing their money if the banks failed.
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Other reforms included huge land and public works projects. The Tennessee Valley Land Authority, TVA, was designed to improve the environment and living conditions of the people. Provisions were made to protect communities from floods and soil erosion. Many areas were also provided with electricity. The Works Progress Administration of 1934 built and repaired hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and parks in many areas.
Another important New Deal provision was the creation of the unemployment compensation and the social security system. The unemployment compensation laws gave states financial aid to help their unemployed citizens. The social security system provided aid to states to set up pensions for the retired workers. In general, the New Deal did not solve all of the problems of the depression because unemployment still remained high. Farmers still suffered as there were still too many surplus products on the market. The New Deal however, helped Americans to cope with the difficulties of the depression. It also gave them more confidence in the government and the power of the president. The effects of the Depression continued until America entered World War II in 1941. STUDY QUESTIONS LESSON 6 Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false. Check your answers. 1. _____Nationalism is a strong feeling of loyalty to one’s own nation. 2. _____Many European countries were imperialistic because they desired to own and
occupy territories in other parts of the world. 3. ____ During the 1920’s, the greatest consumers of manufactured products in America were
the wealthy citizens. 4. ____Some of the factory workers who benefited from the 1920’s period of prosperity were
the ones who worked in the automobile industry. 5. ____By the end of the 1920’s half of the country’s wealth was controlled by corporations. 6. ____During the 1920’s, the rate of unemployment decreased significantly due to the
increase of new industries. 7. ____The Great Depression was caused by the crash of the stock market. 8. ____The droughts in the Midwest caused severe dust storms that left the soil in the region
barren. 9. _____ The New Deal laws focused only on improving the social life of American citizens.
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10. _____ Jobs were created for unemployed young men by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933.
ANSWERS TO LESSON 6 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 T 6 F 2 T 7 T 3 T 8 T 4 T 9 F 5 T 10 T
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LESSON 7
WORLD WAR II AND AMERICAN POST –WAR FOREIGN POLICY (SINCE 1945)
From Neutrality to Intervention
Origins and Impact of the Cold War
Cold War Threat in Asia and the Middle East
Vietnam War and its Impact on American Society FROM NEUTRALITY TO INTERVENTION
World War II began when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. In 1940, Germany occupied
France, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. England was also attacked by bombings and air raids. In the United States, President Roosevelt had passed the Neutrality Acts of 1939, which kept America out of the war, because the country was in the process of economic and social recovery from the depression. In spite of this, the government engaged in a profitable business of selling war supplies to Britain and its allies. The attack on Britain by Germany alerted the American government to the fact that Germany was a powerful country to be reckoned with.
The entry of the United States into the war was brought on by Japan’s bombing of the
American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. In 1940, Japan, Germany and Italy signed an agreement which was called the axis alliance whereby the three countries hoped to dominate the world. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. A few days later, Italy and Germany declared war on the United States.
America entered the war on the side of the allies which were England, France and Russia and
employed its army, navy, and marines. On May 8, 1945, the allied forces defeated Germany and this ended the war in Europe. In August 1945, the American military bombed the city of Hiroshima in Japan using two atomic bombs. This was the first time atomic bombs were used on a city. These actions ended the war with Japan.
ORIGINS AND IMPACT OF THE COLD WAR
In February 1945, just before the end of the war, the leaders of the allied countries, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England and Josef Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, met at Yalta in the Soviet Union to make decisions about the future of Europe. The Soviet Union had already occupied a number of countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland, Rumania, and Hungary and had turned them into small communist states of the Soviet Union. The citizens of
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these countries had no individual rights and could not select their own governments. The western allies wanted more freedom for these countries but Stalin refused to change his country’s policies.
The allies decided that Germany and its capital Berlin were to be divided into four zones of
occupation controlled by the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and the United States. There was however disagreement about the long-term future of Germany. The Soviet Union wanted Germany to remain weak and divided while the other allies wanted Germany to be reunited once more into a strong country.
When the United States, France and England tried to reunify Germany, after the war, the Soviet
Union rebelled by shutting down important services such as railways and water routes to the western zone of Germany. In order to avoid war, the United Nations decided that Germany should remain divided into two separate zones. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany was controlled by the western powers. The German Democratic Republic or East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union and had a communist government. This marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union because the expansion of communism further into Europe greatly alarmed the democratic nations of Europe and America. The Cold War was the period of hostility and tension without armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union from the end of World War II to 1990.
In order to discourage the growth of communism in developing nations, the United States
developed the Point Four Program that provided $400 million in aid for technological and social development programs in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Also, in April 1949, the United States and eleven other western European nations formed a collective security defense organization called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Soviet Union formed an opposing alliance called the Warsaw Pact with seven eastern European countries.
The Cold War also had a great impact on the United States. Many anti-communist investigative
campaigns developed between the 1930’s and 1950’s. Their main purpose was to identify American citizens suspected of supporting communism. In the 1950’s it was organized by Senator Joseph McCarthy and was known as McCarthyism. As a result, many people were persecuted and the freedom and civil rights of many American citizens were threatened or taken away by the actions of others who feared communism.
In 1959, Fidel Castro became president of Cuba and instituted a communist regime. This
angered the government of the United States because it brought communism and the Cold War so close to the United States. This situation was made even worse in 1961, when the CIA and Cuban exiles organized an invasion of Cuba. The invasion was defeated by Cuban troops and the incident was referred to as The Bay of Pigs invasion.
The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion had a major impact on American relations with the Soviet Union. In the following year, the Soviet Union increased its military and economic aid to Cuba because Castro feared another military invasion. Nuclear missiles were placed at strategic points on the island pointing towards the United States. When this was discovered, President John Kennedy threatened to surround the island with a naval blockade if the missiles were not removed. This became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis and it brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. The soviets withdrew the missiles and war was averted. Cold War tension was further
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aggravated in Europe when the Soviet communist government under Premier Nikita Khrushchev built the Berlin Wall in 1962 to prevent East Germans crossing over to West Germany.
In 1987, President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan of
the United States agreed to limit the use of nuclear missiles in their countries. The impact was less military spending for both countries. By 1989 the Soviet Union had relaxed its control over many of the countries in its political sphere, and many countries in Eastern Europe began liberating themselves from communist rule. The most significant event that indicated that the Cold War had come to an end was the removal of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1990.
COMMUNIST AND NATO COUNTRIES DURING THE COLD WAR
Gross, Herbert H.(1980). World Geography, 490. Chicago: Follett Social Studies, Follett Publishing Company:
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COLD WAR THREAT IN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST The spread of communism had a great impact on international relations by the turn of the
century. In 1949, China became a communist country under Mao Zedong and was renamed the Peoples Republic of China. This development alarmed the government of the United States because it wanted to contain communism within Europe and not have it spread throughout Asia. Fearing that communism would spread to Japan, the United States provided that country with assistance to rebuild the economy and a new democratic government.
In 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea with the intention of unifying the whole
country under communism. The American public was outraged at the invasion and President Harry S. Truman, instead of pressing for a congressional declaration of war, went to the United Nations for approval and help, which was granted on June 27, 1950 (http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/korea.html 1/09/2006). The war lasted for three years and ended with an armistice, which is a temporary suspension of hostilities, between the North and South. The war cost over $15 billion, and more than 54,000 Americans and nearly two million Chinese and Koreans lost their lives.
The United States believed that the best way to resist communist aggression and occupation
was through a system of alliances. In order to prevent communist aggression from spreading to Southeast Asia the United States organized the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954. Its other members included Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines.
The United States and the Soviet Union also competed for political influence and territory in the Middle East. After World War II, thousands of Jews flocked to Palestine to establish it as their national homeland. However, the Arabs in the region clashed with Jews as they did not want to share the territory. In order to satisfy both sides, the United Nations divided Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. On May 14, 1948, the Jewish government declared that their section of Palestine was to be called the State of Israel, a new independent state. The United States also recognized Israel as a legitimate state. In response to this, the Arabs invaded Israel. The Israeli army defeated the Arabs and captured half of the Arab territory. The Arabs refused to recognize the State of Israel. This marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict over Palestine that continues today. As a result of this, many Arab nations developed stronger political ties with the Soviet Union. Egypt’s president Gamal Abdel Nasser used the rivalries of the Cold War to gain assistance for his country. He had an anti-communist government but accepted economic aid from both the United States and the Soviet Union. However, tensions developed in 1955 when the United States offered to lend Egypt $56 million to build the Aswan High Dam. The United States later withdrew this offer when it became known that Nasser had accepted arms from the Soviet Union. In retaliation, the Egyptian government blocked the Suez Canal preventing international shipping, especially from Israel, from passing through. This led to an attack on Egypt by Britain, France and Israel. The conflict eventually ended with Egypt retaining control of the canal.
The Soviet Union used this crisis to establish closer ties with Egypt and to spread its influence in the Middle East. Since that time the United States government has made many efforts to improve diplomatic relations with Arab countries and find a peaceful settlement to Arab-Israeli issues.
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THE VIETNAM WAR AND ITS IMPACT ON AMERICAN SOCIETY
Before World War II, Vietnam was part of the French colony of Indochina. During the war, the French lost control and Japan conquered the region. Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese communist, and his followers, the Vietminh, eventually defeated Japan. He then declared Vietnam an independent country. In 1945 the French tried to reoccupy Vietnam and this started another war with the Vietnamese. The French asked the Americans for help and fearing that communism would spread throughout Vietnam, Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower sent military advisors and supplies. However, the situation changed in 1949 when the Peoples Republic of China aided the Vietminh forces.
In 1954, the fighting came to an end and Vietnam was divided into two regions. The Vietminh
remained in control of the north and retained a communist government. The French occupied the south which was anti-communist. When the French left, the south maintained an anti-communist government under Ngo Dinh Diem. In 1963, Diem was overthrown by South Vietnamese communists called Viet Cong. By 1965 America was afraid that communism was going to spread throughout Vietnam and the rest of Indochina. President Lyndon Johnson decided to escalate the war by sending military troops and by bombing North Vietnam.
The massive commitment to Vietnam caused many Americans to question the government’s
reasons for staying there. Many wondered if America’s position as the world’s defender of democracy and major superpower was worth sending people to war to lose their lives. By 1965, there were many antiwar movements and nationwide protests. By 1969, the Vietnam War had become the nation’s most costly war and heavy government spending led to inflation, or the rapid rise in the price of goods. In Vietnam, there were over half a million American troops and the number of combat deaths was over 23,000. The country was virtually destroyed by the number of bombs that had been dropped by the American military. After many more years of fighting, the United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973. However, the civil war continued for another two years and the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese eventually gained control of all of Vietnam making it a communist country.
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LESSON 7 STUDY QUESTIONS. WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWERS, AND THEN CHECK YOUR ANSWERS. 1. Which person was responsible for gaining the independence of Vietnam from Japanese
domination? a. Mao Zedong
b. Josef Stalin c. Ho Chi Minh d. Calvin Coolidge
2. The Korean War began ______________.
a. when North Korea invaded South Korea b. when Japan invaded South Korea c. when China invaded North Korea d. when South Korea invaded North Korea
3. The feature(s) of McCarthyism during the 1950’s was/were: a. the exaggerated fear and belief that communists were operating in America
b. many investigative campaigns that ruined many people’s reputations c. the persecution of people without evidence d. all of the above
4. One of the cities that was atom-bombed at the end of World War II was
a. Berlin b. Hiroshima c. Peking d. Tokyo Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false. 5. _____ By 1965, there were many antiwar movements against the government for
participating in the Vietnam War. 6. _____The United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973. 7. _____ The United States believed in the “containment” of communism, which was the
political policy that communism should not be allowed to spread outside of Eastern Europe. 8. ____The Point Four Program was organized by the United States to provide aid for
technological and social development programs in Latin America, Asia and Africa. 9. ____The Cold War was the period of hostility without war between the United States and
the Soviet Union from the end of World War II to 1990. 10. ____World War II began when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. ANSWERS TO LESSON 7 STUDY QUESTIONS 1 C 2 A 3 D 4 B 5 T 6 T 7 T 8 T 9 T 10 T
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LESSON 8
AMERICAN SOCIETY (SINCE 1950)
The Movement for Civil and Voting Rights
Social Reform in the 1960’s and 1970’s
Political and Economic Changes since 1980
Technology and the Development of American Society
Contemporary Social and Environmental Issues THE MOVEMENT FOR CIVIL AND VOTING RIGHTS
After the Second World War, African Americans with the help of their white supporters began
to make strong demands for equal treatment in society and for their civil rights to be respected and recognized. African American soldiers who had fought for democracy in Europe and Asia returned to a country where their efforts were not appreciated and inequality and segregation, the separation of racial groups, still continued. President Truman also realized that America could not claim to be the protector of world freedom and maintain a social and political system that discriminated against people based on race. Truman began the process of ending segregation by desegregating the army. He also established the Fair Employment Board that gave black citizens equal opportunities to hold jobs in the civil service.
These early successes stimulated a number of black intellectuals and civil rights organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to take stronger and more direct action to bring about civil rights for African Americans. They decided to use two main methods to break down discriminatory customs and laws: legal action and non-violent protest. A major success for the civil rights movement was the landmark case of Brown v .Board of Education, in 1954, which desegregated public education in the United States. The decision was made based on the arguments of Thurgood Marshall who stated that segregation kept blacks from getting an equal education.
On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a black woman, Rosa Parks, took a seat on a bus and was told to give up her seat to a white man because the bus was crowded. Parks refused and was arrested for breaking the city’s segregation law. As a result of this, the black community in that city staged a protest led by Dr. Martin Luther King. All Blacks decided to boycott the bus system until the laws changed. After many months of this action, the Supreme Court ruled in 1956 that segregation in transportation was illegal. During this time, the civil rights movement developed. In 1957, Dr. King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1960, the Student Nonviolent
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Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) were formed. In addition, Asian Americans and Latinos also joined with African Americans to form the Third World Liberation Front. The main purpose of these movements was to desegregate all public facilities and institutions using non-violent means such as boycotts and demonstrations. The SNCC used the sit-in tactic, which was to remain seated for many hours in places that were only for white citizens. By 1962, they had used this method to integrate many public facilities such as stores, restaurants and movie theatres in over one hundred cities. The organization CORE also achieved a victory in 1961, in the desegregation of the railroads. In this case, whites and blacks made many journeys on segregated buses and trains in the South in order to change the laws. All of these efforts as well as the violence that the protestors experienced focused national attention on the unfair conditions in the South. On August 28, 1963 the civil rights movement reached its peak. Over 200,000 people including civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King marched on Washington D.C. to persuade Congress to pass laws to remove segregation from all areas of life in the United States. As a result of this the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. SOCIAL REFORM IN THE 1960’s AND 1970’s
Even before the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, President John Kennedy encouraged Congress to pass legislation to provide funds for social reform. In 1961, the government provided funds for housing for the poor, the elderly and students. New laws also established a standard minimum wage, which helped to significantly increase the average annual income of families. In 1963, laws were also passed outlawing segregation in all universities and public facilities, such as parks and restaurants.
In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. It directed all businesses to serve all people regardless of race, color, religion or national origin. The Equal Opportunity Commission was established at the same time to handle any complaints about unfair employment practices. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 took action against those states that denied African Americans the right to vote. It also passed laws to protect the voting rights of Native American Indians. In 1968, the Supreme Court made laws that banned housing discrimination against all minorities. Other government reforms provided schools and poverty relief for the underprivileged.
Improvements in civil rights legislation continued into the 1970’s. In 1970, the Congressional Law protected the rights of illiterate voters by banning the use of literacy tests in all states. Women also gained more rights and greater participation in all areas of society. Women’s groups fought against discrimination in college admissions and pay and hiring practices. A major success was the Education Amendment Act of 1972 which prohibited discrimination based on gender in all educational programs that received government funds. Native American protest groups also fought for many years against the loss of their tribal lands and reservations due to expanding cities and industrialization. In 1973, their protests were partially settled when President Nixon returned territories in New Mexico and Alaska along with a compensation of nearly $1 billion dollars to the Pueblo and Alaskan native Indians.
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POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES SINCE 1980
In spite of the many civil rights reforms during the 1970’s, there was still a legacy of domestic problems such as political corruption stemming from the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Nixon. There was an energy shortage, pollution, a high unemployment rate, and inflation. When Ronald Reagan was elected as president in 1980, he promised Americans a “new beginning” which meant social and economic recovery.
Reagan’s new policy for economic recovery was called New Federalism. This policy cut taxes on large businesses and wealthy families, which in turn gave them the opportunity to reinvest money in more business, provide more jobs for workers and produce more goods and services. The Reagan administration also tried to reduce unemployment for American citizens by passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, which prevented employers from hiring illegal immigrants. Efforts were also made to balance the national budget by reducing a number of social welfare programs.
The positive effects of these programs was that inflation dropped to 5% and the rate of unemployment dropped considerably by the end of Reagan’s presidency in 1988. However, the federal government was not able to significantly cut the national debt, which had reached over $150 billion.
In the 1990’s, President William J. Clinton’s main goal was to reform American society. His proposals for health-care reform did not gain much support. Nevertheless, his proposals to balance the federal budget were passed and he left office was an impressive budget surplus. He initiated and had passed cuts in public spending and tax increases for wealthy Americans. New laws were also passed to protect the civil rights of workers on the job, such as unpaid leave for family emergencies. TECHNOLOGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY
Since the 1950’s, the United States has experienced a revolution in science and technology.
The development of computer technology began in the 1940’s. The computers that were made at that time were as large as railroad freight cars. Since that time, technology has changed the appearance and way in which people receive and use information. In the 1990’s, the internet, a network of computers linked together, has bridged the communication gap between global societies. The computer has also changed the nature of work and business. Many people now work via telecommunications, which means that all communications are carried out from a distance by cable, television, telephones or fax machines.
Technology has also advanced in the area of medical research and health care. In 1954, the polio vaccine was developed and this proved to be successful in eliminating poliomyelitis by the 1960’s. The discovery of antibiotics, which are bacteria-killing molds, brought many diseases such as tuberculosis under control. Since that time, health technology has advanced to the level that doctors are using computer-operated machines such as sonograms, CAT scans and the electron microscope to help them examine the human body, conduct scientific research to save lives, and detect abnormalities in living organisms. Scientists can now also manipulate genes in plants and animals to make them grow faster and be more resistant to diseases. This process is called genetic engineering.
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The development of technology in relation to the American space program has had a great impact on American life. In 1957, the Russian government (the Soviets) sent satellites called Sputniks into space. This major scientific achievement caused the American government to believe that the Russians could use the same technology to send nuclear weapons across the world. In order not to appear to be scientifically behind the Soviets, America launched its own satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. The government also funded and supported many new educational programs to develop scientific space technology. This competition between both countries became known as the space race. In 1961, the Apollo program was created and this led to space exploration on a larger scale. In 1962, John Glenn orbited the earth and in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon. Since then, space shuttles, satellites and probes have been exploring space and other planets in the solar system.
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
The United States uses more energy than any other country in the world. Americans make up
only 4% of the world’s total population yet they consume 25% of the world’s total energy supplies. They also own 25% of the world’s trucks and cars. Since the 1960’s, many Americans became aware of the devastation to the environment that resulted from the exhaust fumes from the millions of cars and the industrial wastes from major factories that polluted the air and water resources. Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon encouraged Congress to pass legislation to protect the environment.
An environmental hazard that has caused a lot of concern is acid rain. This is rain polluted with sulphuric acid caused by the sulphur dioxide produced from the coal burnt to produce energy in power plants and factories. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed and it has greatly reduced the amount of sulphur dioxide produced at power plants. Other acts such as The Clean Air Act of 1970 and The Clean Water Act of 1972 have helped local governments and states to fund programs to remove toxic waste from rivers and lakes and reduce pollution in the air, caused by factory and automobile fumes.
In the 1970’s, the United States experienced an oil crisis when a number of middle eastern countries stopped selling oil to this country. As a result, a great effort was made to find new energy alternatives that were safer for the environment such as wind and solar energy.
Another issue that has become a serious environmental threat is deforestation, which is the cutting down of the world’s forests for industrial or farming purposes. In the United States, only 5% of the country’s original forests now remain. In Brazil, the destruction of the rainforest has caused huge gaps in the forest areas and the loss of hundreds of plant and animal species. Continued deforestation on a global scale will also have a devastating effect for humanity because trees produce oxygen which is essential for life. The burning of trees produces the harmful gas, carbon dioxide, which destroys the atmosphere.
Another environmental issue that is affecting the world’s societies is global warming which is the theory that the earth’s temperatures are gradually rising, and will ultimately have a devastating effect on mankind, due to the increasing amounts of methane gases and carbon dioxide produced as a result of industrialization. These gases form a barrier that traps the heat from the sun’s rays on the earth, causing a greenhouse effect.
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A related concern is the protection of the ozone layer, which is the layer of gas above the
earth’s surface that protects living organisms from the harmful rays of the sun. Scientific research indicates that this layer is being gradually worn away by the extensive use of products like pesticides and aerosol sprays containing harmful chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons. In recent decades, the United States, Canada, and Western European nations have led movements to ban the use of these chemicals worldwide. LESSON 8 STUDY QUESTIONS Write T if the statement is True and F if it is False. Check your answers. 1. _____Dr. King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as a non-
violent protest group. 2. _____The desegregation of the army was a direct result of the success of the Montgomery
bus boycott. 3. _____The Congressional Law protected the rights of illiterate voters by banning the use of
literacy tests in all states. 4. _____In 1961, the government provided funds to improve public housing for the poor. 5. ____The Immigration Reform and Control Act helped American workers because it
prevented employers from hiring illegal immigrants. 6. ____ During the 1980’s one method that the government used to balance the national
budget was to reduce the number of social welfare programs. 7. ____ John Glenn was the first man to walk on the moon. 8. ____ In 1957, the Soviets sent satellites called Sputniks into space that eventually led to the
space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. 9. ____The ozone layer is the layer of gas above the earth’s surface that protects living
organisms from the harmful rays of the sun. 10. ____A result of the oil crisis was that greater efforts were made by the government to find
new alternatives such as solar energy.
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ANSWERS TO LESSON 8 STUDY QUESTIONS
1 T 2 T 3 T 4 T 5 T 6 T 7 F 8 T 9 T 10 T
AMERICAN HISTORY
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to enable students to understand the development of the United States within the context of history with a major focus on the post-Reconstruction period. Students will use knowledge pertaining to history, geography, economics, political processes, religion, ethics, diverse cultures, and humanities to solve problems in academic, civic, social, and employment settings. The student will: • Identify and understand themes in history that cross scientific, economic and cultural boundaries. • Use chronology, sequencing, patterns and periodization to examine interpretations of an event.
• Understand the economic, social and political interactions between Native American tribes and European settlers during the Age of Discovery.
• Understand how religious, social, political and economic developments shaped the settlement patterns of the North American colonies.
• Understand the significant military and political events that took place during the Constitutional period.
• Understand the political events that defined the Constitutional period.
• Understand the significant political events that took place during the early national period.
• Understand the military and economic events of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
• Know the causes of the Industrial Revolution and its economic, political and cultural effects on American society.
• Understand the social and cultural impact of immigrant groups and individuals on American society after 1880.
• Understand significant events leading up to the United States’ involvement in World War I and the political, social and economic results of that conflict in Europe and the United States.
• Understand social transformations that took place in the 1920s and 1930s, the principal political and economic factors that led to the Great Depression and the legacy of the Great Depression in American society.
• Know the origins and effects of the involvement of the United States in World War II.
• Understand the political events that shaped the development of United States foreign policy since World War II and know the characteristics of that policy.
• Understand the development of federal civil rights and voting rights since the 1950s and the social and political implications of these events.
• Know significant political events and issues that have shaped domestic policy decisions in contemporary America.
• Use mental maps of physical and human features of the world to answer complex geographic questions.
• Understand how cultural and technological characteristics can link or divide regions.
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• Understand how various factors affect people’s mental maps.
• Understand how social, cultural, economic and environmental factors contribute to the dynamic nature of regions.
• Understand past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction and their impact on physical and human systems.
• Understand how the allocation of control of the Earth’s surface affects interactions between people in different regions.
• Understand the global impacts of human changes in the physical environment.
• Know how humans overcome “limits to growth” imposed by physical systems.
• Understand the relationships between resources and the exploration, colonization and settlement of different regions of the world.
• Understand the concept of sustainable development.
• Understand the role of special interest groups, political parties, the media, public opinion and majority/minority conflicts on the development of public policy and the political process.
• Understand issues of personal concern: the rights and responsibilities of the individual under the U.S. Constitution; the importance of civil liberties; the role of conflict resolution and compromise; and issues involving ethical behavior in politics.
• Understand how government taxes, policies and programs affect individuals, groups, businesses and regions.
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AMERICAN HISTORY 59
Author: Caroline Y. GrantCopyright 2009
Revision Date:12/2009
Author: Caroline Y. GrantCopyright 2009
Revision Date:12/2009
